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Chapter Nine
KLINN
Istormed out of thekitchen, my mind clouded with a mixture of anger, frustration, and if I was being honest with myself, a hint of insecurity. Faye’s inquiry about Zorbluk and Gravix had struck a nerve, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that she was prying too much, assuming the worst in them.
And me. Did I have to get so he-motional?
I wasn’t delusional. I knew our histories, the past cons the guys and I got in to strike it rich. Even if no one got hurt physically, we knew we were breaking the law. Hell, busting my ass out of jail on Earth was probably worth a couple decades of sentencing for all three of us if we were still on Faye’s home planet.
It didn’t matter if I believed I was framed. I didn’t follow procedure.
That was part of my problem. Sometimes my ideas were good. The principle was in the right place. The follow through and the fallout, well, they didn’t always turn out great.
I turned down the corridor, appreciating the dim light that hid my face in shadow. The corridor was empty, yet I still felt exposed, raw. But as I distanced myself from the conversation, my irritation began to wane, replaced by a lingering concern. Sure, Faye did her gumshoe thing and took me for a spin around the old interrogation block, but I picked up on a genuine curiosity behind all her world-weary cynicism. She wanted to understand me better.
I leaned against a wall, listening to the ship’s engine. It awed me how I spilled my background to her. She got me to open up easier than a greased padlock on a cheap Nebulian vault. I found myself torn between my guarded nature and my growing awareness of Faye. She’d think I was ridiculous if she knew all the pheromones and bonding urges my Ventivore body was cranking out whenever she was around. All I had to do was think of her, those pretty brown curves and all that thick curly hair on her head and my cock developed a mind of its own.
Besides the obvious physical attraction, her presence awakened something within me, a desire to open up, to let her in and share the intricacies of my past. But old habits die hard, and I damn sure hated appearing vulnerable.
I did much better the other way around when I was helping someone else in that state. Someone like her.
Now I felt like a hypocrite. I saw Faye’s vulnerabilities on Malecor. She trusted me in those moments. And here I was, standing in the halls of my ship like a video game character still loading because I got too spooked to admit to her how I felt.
I grunted in frustration as I walked to my room. What made a good detective or con artist was the ability to read a situation. The odds of a human getting with an alien were slim, let alone an alien with my rap sheet. I was at the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and two strikes. Was it even worth trying?
I had a brief thought of letting the whole idea go. An invisible roundhouse to the chest shook me out of it. I stumbled towards the chair and rested my hand against my head as a pounding headache proceeded to rattle my brain.
Ventivores could form bonds like other alien species in this galaxy, but fuck, why did ours have to be so painful if we tried to shake the urge?
I got up and popped two aspirin from the bathroom medicine cabinet, knowing they wouldn’t do a thing to help. Nobody prepared me for this. Could that be my problem, too? I fended for myself my entire life. Maybe my bonding instinct was telling me it was time to stop going it alone.
My response had been unfair to Faye. She deserved honesty. As I pulled my clothes off to get ready for bed, my inner confusion eased up.
I couldn't sabotage my chance. Here I was, shooting in the dark again, but I needed to find a way to bridge the gap.
My head spun and my stomach got queasy. I staggered over to the bed. I planned to tell her soon. Tomorrow, even, if my bonding instinct didn’t do away with me first.
***
FAYE
Iwoke up groggy andgrumpy the next morning, my neck stiff from dozing off in the chair in the storage room. I didn’t sleep well last night. My mind had been on Klinn and our discussion that didn’t end well.
I thought about it as I got dressed. Last night I wanted answers, but after thinking it over, I had to admit I could’ve used a more considerate approach. It hurt me to know I came off as insensitive to him though I didn’t intend to be.
As I gathered my hair in a ponytail, I recalled past instances on Earth when various family members, casual friends, or co-workers compared me to a robot or supercomputer. They thought it was funny or they meant it as a weird compliment. It rubbed me the wrong way. Just because I processed differently at times didn’t mean I wasn’t human or had no feelings.
I huffed while I fluffed out my puff. It’d be nice if my feelings didn’t pop up at the most inconvenient times as they were currently doing. Klinn and I had to make this last delivery before we headed to Kajal in search of Riven. The last thing I needed to be was distracted.
I put on the corresponding vest that went with my sexy Malecor dive bar ensemble. I frowned as I felt air touch my exposed midriff. The first thing I was doing once I arrived in the city was find another comfy tunic dress.
"We’re entering Xaxos’s orbit," Gravix’s voice came on the intercom. "Be prepared for landing in the east sector in twenty minutes."
I tugged on my boots and waited for the ship to land. Twenty minutes chugged by. I left the room and headed for the exit.
